Let's play something else today!

I've been playing all sorts of games ever since I was old enough to comprehend the rules of "Chutes and Ladders". I eventually built an extensive collection of games of all sorts. Card games, and board games that is. My parents were somewhat amused by my growing collection. Things were fairly normal until I ran across the game "Risk"; that was the turning point. I had discovered something new - War Games. I didn't know it at the time, but I had just stepped through a door which would eventually lead me to an exciting new world of adventure and intrigue. It all started with that one game. I became intrigued by the names of the territories in the Game. Where were these lands? Why had I never heard of these countries? Wouldn't it be neat if I could add submarines and other naval units to the game? What about bombers and jets?

Eventually, I began adding my own rules to the game. I now know that this was something that many people did with this very game. It was ripe for expansion. Not content with the current cramped board, I pulled a sheet of plywood out of Dad's stack, and started drawing on it. Dad wasn't that thrilled, but I had to have a geopolitically correct playing surface. After slaving away on the rules for about a month, I invited a bunch of friends. We were soon plotting the course of battleships, armored infantry divisions, and squadrons of strategic bombers. It was thrilling, it was my game! It was wondrous! It was something new!

The year went by and I wrote other games, ones that I introduced to my friends like before. Some were as well received as "Conquest", some were not. That's when I learned that this was not something I alone had thought up. A friend of mine told me about "River City Hobbies". A hobby store that carried an extensive line of games. But what games! Games I had never heard of before. Amazing games, with intricate rules, and highly detailed boards. Where one could be the commander of a Panzer Battalion, or a Civil war cavalry brigade. One could even navigate a starship, or... Control an army of Wizards and Dragons!

Thus it began. My introduction and eventual infatuation with these 'Other' games. The games you don't find at Kay-Be or Toys 'r' Us. The games that require a little more effort than simply moving a token along a circuitous route until you reach the end. The 'War Games', The 'Role Playing' games, the games made by companies other than "Parker Brothers", or "Milton Bradley". Here then is a list of some of those games. A sampling of some of my favorite games.

First off is the list of Avalon Hill Classics.

Civilization

A game of the 'Heroic Age'. A dawn of history game.

Advanced Civilization

An expansion set for one of my favorite games.

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Diplomacy

The exciting game of international intrigue.

Road Kill

Armored warfare on the nations's highways.

Enemy in Sight

18th century sailing ship card game.

Naval War

World War II fleet combat.

We should all mourn the demise of Avalon Hill. Unlike TSR's continued devotion to the adult gaming community under Wizards of the Coast (WotC); Hasbro has not only discontinued sales of many of the classics listed above, they have disgraced a once proud and prestigous gaming house by transforming it into a label for cheap imitations of a once glorious game set. Transmogrifying this one-time leader of the adult gaming pantheon into a producer of pseudo-strategy games for prepubescent teens.

The King of alternative gaming. TSR! (Now known as 'Wizards of the Coast', a subsidiary of Hasbro.)

The Awful Green Things
From Outer Space

A preposterous space game. I owned the original Tom Wham release, which came as an insert in Dragon magazine #28, but I lost most of the pieces, so I bought a new copy when TSR began marketing/selling the game.

Dungeons and Dragons

My favorite game. Fantasy Role Play.

Snits Revenge

A ludicrous game. Microbial warfare inside a alien host.

Gamma World

Science fiction role play in a post holocaust setting.

Gang Busters

1920's role playing. Cops and Robbers.

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Three Dragon Ante

A standalone card game, which can be used in conjunction with the D&D role-playing game, or as a standalone game.

The railroad series by Mayfair Games.

Empire Builder

Continental rail building in the U.S. The original rail building game.

North American Rails

Add in Canada and Mexico for a wide ranging challenge.

Eurorails

How do you pronounce "Szczecin"? A European adventure.

Nippon Rails

Rail building on a mountainous group of scattered islands.

British Rails

Competition on the island kingdom.

Australian Rails

Crossing the outback with iron rails.

Iron Dragon

A fantasy land, and draconian trains.

Lunar Rails

Railroads on the Moon? Preposterous, ridiculous, outrageous!

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Russian Rails

Another geographically accurate board game. Learn all about the Russian motherland while you play.

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India Rails

Experience the thrills of owning, building and operating railroads in the Jewel of the British Empire

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Silverton

The Rocky Mountains were quite a challenge for the inventive engineers who built a railroad across this nation. Can you possibly do as well as they did?

Express

A highly competitive card version.

Another series of games by Mayfair Games.

Settlers of Catan

Settle a new land. A splendid game blending simulation and strategy. Mayfair Games.

An expansion to 'Settlers'. Expansion coin, paper, and cloth new progress cards, Metropolis pieces (Cities), the Merchant, Knights, and more.

The Settlers of Catan card game

A two player card game of discovery, settlement, conflict, and trade.

Flying Buffalo games. A one time TSR competitor.

Nuclear War

A comic cataclysmic card game of cosmic proportions.

Nuclear Escalation

The first supplement to Nuclear War. More Nuclear confrontation.

Nuclear Proliferation

The second supplement. Post cold war destruction.

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Weapons of Mass Destruction

Yet another gem from the folks at Flying Buffalo. Another expansion that you can play without the original game.(Two copies - Yes, I am willing to sell this unopened game/supplement)

Tunnels and Trolls

Fantasy Role Play. Good solo game. Much less detailed than AD&D.

Steve Jackson Games.

Illuminati

The original conspiracy theory game. Do the boy scouts really control the Mafia? I have two copies of this game. The original, in the plastic click shut box, and a newer 'Deluxe' version (plus expansion), with full size cards. NOT the collectible card game.

Illuminati Expansion set 1

The conspiracy continues.

Illuminati Expansion set 2

Are you paranoid? You should be.

Illuminati Expansion set 3

You can change the world. Fnord!

Globbo

Alien baby sitter and exploding children. If you have the board for this game I'd appreciate an email.

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Chez Geek & Chez Geek 2

Can you and your roommates accumulate enough slack to overcome the stress of your jobs?

Munchkin

Kill the monsters; Steal the treasure; Stab your buddy. You know you want to. A tasteless parody game which brings you the essence of the dungeon-crawling experience... without all that messy roleplaying.

Munchkin Bites

Be a vampire, or a werewolf, or a snotty faerie changeling. A stand alone game that can be combined with any other Munchkin games. Bring along your Coffin +3 and you sword of 'Beheading people just like in that movie'. More Munchkin Mayhem from Steve Jackson Games.

The lucrative market of selling body parts to mad scientist. How many spleens did you sell today?

Devil Bunny Needs a Ham

Who will be the first to make it to the top of the building? Can you avoid the wrath of the Devil Bunny?

Ebola Monkey Hunt

(Plus the Power Monkeys expansion) Ebola monkeys, or your coworkers. Which is worse? Watch out for that 'Cheeky' monkey. By Placebo Press.

Ebola Monkey Hunt: 3rd Edition

Ebola monkeys, or your coworkers. Which is worse? Watch out for that 'Cheeky' monkey. By Placebo Press. 3rd Edition has a vastly improved playing board, and some additional cards.

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Trailer Park Gods

If you can make it as the god of the trailer park, you can make it anywhere. Lookout Zeus!

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Udder Maddness

Who's really responsible for tipping over those cows?

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Freeloader

The best things in life are free. Other people's things.

The Others. A collection of miscellaneous entertainment.

Invasion of the Air Eaters

Metagamings' MicroGame 12. Alien conversion of earths atmosphere.

Hero

Fantasy board game by Yaquinto. Rescue the princess. multiplayer competition.

Distant Seas

The merchant marine game by Vernon Paul Rood. Similar to rail games.

Teenage Mutant Ninja
Turtles & Other Strangeness

Role play hysteria by Palladium.

Ace of Aces

World War I air combat. Flip books by Nova.

Champions

The super hero role playing game. Hero games.

Blood Bowl

Bloody Fantasy Football by Games Workshop.

Chaos Marauders

Lead your army of orcs into battle against; themselves? Games Workshop.

Dilbert: Corporate Shuffle

Yes indeed, a game based on the insane corporate goings on of Dilbert's job. Wizards of the Coast.

Black Death

Bubonic plague anyone? Play the role of a pestilent outbreak as you strive to decimate the populous. By BTRC.

Groo: The game

Basic set & Expansion set. The bumbling adventures of Groo. By Archangel Entertainment.

Fluxx

1 Deck, 84 cards, Endless possibilities. A totally different game; every time.Was originally licensed to Iron Crown Enterprises. Rights reverted to Looney Labs when ICE filled for Bankruptcy. Now published/sold by Looney Labs. There have been numerous expansions, revisions and variants released. The one I have is a second edition with 84 cards.

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Zombie Fluxx

The Ever Changing Zombie card game. A Fluxx variant with Zombies as the premise. By Looney Labs.

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Spammers

The card game of Junk e-Mail. Earn a Gazillion dollars every second!, Turn pocket lint into bitchin' hot-rods!, Find god in your bathroom!. By Atlas Games.

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Lunch Money

A merciless street fight. Who will be the last one standing? By Atlas Games.

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Falling

Everyone's falling, and the only thing you can think of is being the last one to hit the ground. Ooohh that's gonna hurt. A James Ernest Game, produced by Cheapass Games.

Beer: The Card Game

Who will be the luckiest sot of the lot? How many beers can you down before the last call? A responsible drinking game (Without the actual drinking). By Stupendous Games.

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Plague & Pestilence

A card game of Peace, War and Plague in the Middle Ages. By Hillary's Toybox and Chessex Manufacturing, Inc.

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Stupor Powers

The First-Class Role-Playing game for Third-Rate Heroes. By Wingnut Games; Published by Unstoppable Productions.

Zombies!!!

Can you survive a night out on the town with a pack of zombies lusting after your living flesh? Will you make it to the helipad before your ammo runs out?

In addition to the primary game, I've purchased a few expansions to this game.

Zombies!!! 2 - Zombie Corps(e): An expansion that adds new map tiles, new event cards, additional rules, and six glow in the dark zombies!

An unspeakable crime. A bewildered victim. Howling mobs want to know... Who stole Ed's pants? It's a curious twist on the classic who-dunnit theme. In this game you try to fit a perpetrator to the facts of the crime. Pinning the crime on one of the players by insinuating that they did it! Another gem by Eight Foot Llama

Management Material

The card game of cubicle denizens where the only way to win is to remain a coroporate peon. Use lame excuses to pass on horrible projects to your coworkers.

Ogre Bash

A card game of sets. Players must collect specific sets of cards in order to win a hand. A good strategy game, but a poor marketing strategy. The name and game theme (Ogre bash), really doesn't have anything to do with the game. I think it was simply a ploy to target a specific segment of the population.

Werewolves of Millers Hollow

A game for a large group (8-20 people). Who's a Werewolve? You'd better find out before all the townsfolk are eaten. Sounds fun!

Bang!

A shootout game, in the Spaghetti Western style. Outlaws face off against the Sheriff and his deputies. Mix in the renegade, and no one can predict the outcome.

Fishing For Terrorists 2.0

A twisted take on 'go fish'. Fight against terrorism as the heroic head of a government agency. "Play this game or the Terrorists have already won!"

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En Garde

Honorable combat from a more civilized age. Card game simulation of victorian age duels with sabre, buckler and panache!

Shadows Over Camelot

Conspiracy, chivalry, and a quest to save Camelot. Players cooperate in order to defeat the duplicitous traitor in their midst.The themes and game mechanics are tightly integrated and well considered. Loads of fun every time we played it.

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Cards Against Humanity

A gift from a co-worker. I've heard of this card game from other gamers. Supposedly outrageous anti-PC game. I'm looking forward to playing.

While many of these games are out of print, you may still be able to find them at local hobby/game shops or online, at one of the various auction sites. If you know of a good 'Other' game, I'd appreciate the information. I'm always willing to try out a new game.

* Here's a game I haven't even had a chance to play yet. Someday I'll take a break from D&D to enjoy a raucous round of something different.

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